11
Chapter 1 Online Presence
Create an Account
To join Twitter, you must sign up for an
account by navigating to www.Twitter.com. Locate
the
New to Twitter
box and follow the instructions.
Provide your full name, professional e-mail
address, and a secure password. Click the
Sign
up for Twitter
button. Similar to other accounts
you have created, you will receive an e-mail
confi rmation. Click the link inside the body
of the e-mail. The e-mail will confi rm your
Twitter account.
After you sign up, you can choose to see
people you know who have already joined Twitter.
If you choose to do this, provide your e-mail
contact list to connect with people in your
professional network.
User Name
The three most prominent features others
will see about you are your user name, your
picture, and your profi le. Users have the option
of creating a unique Twitter name or using their
e-mail address as their name. Create your Twitter
name in a professional manner so recruiters
can follow you. Although you are limited in
characters, you have creative license when
choosing a user name. Twitter user names are
unique in that they feature the
@
symbol as a
prefi x. On Twitter, brevity is essential. Consider
the following examples:
•
name with profession:
@BobbyCrossWriter
•
name with professional designation, such
as MBA:
@CrandallJonesMBA
•
name with general location, such as NYC:
@AmyMackNYC
Bio
Twitter also provides a space for profi le
information. This information is referred to as a
bio, short for biography. Write your bio providing
a professional description of yourself. Your Twitter
bio is limited to 160 characters. Next, upload your
headshot as your photo.
your profi le, look for your e-mail inbox. You
have the ability to e-mail other connections
within the system through your inbox.
Groups
Once you complete your profi le, you can join
a variety of groups. Groups may be an open group,
which means users do not have to be a member
to read discussions. Other groups are closed groups,
meaning you must ask for permission to join.
An administrator of the group will receive your
request to join and then view your profi le. You
will receive a notifi cation if you gain permission
to be involved.
Like other online groups, LinkedIn provides
group members with a way to connect and
sometimes share information with other members.
You can build your LinkedIn connections by
joining groups and contributing to discussions.
Some groups are for exchanging information,
while others are for recruiters hiring employees.
Once you join groups on LinkedIn, you may
send invitations to connect to others in the same
group without being considered a spammer.
One of the fi rst groups to join, especially when
unemployed, is a job seekers group. Select a
group that is appropriate for you.
Twitter is a free, open networking site
for professionals and nonprofessionals who
communicate in real time. The purpose of
networking on Twitter is to follow available job
posts, as well as people’s ideas, stories, opinions,
and information. Twitter is a place where
employers post jobs and job searchers visit to
fi nd employment opportunities.
Twitter communication is faster than e-mail.
Twitter communication is considered micro-
blogging. A microblog is short communication
limited to a certain number of characters per post.
When using Twitter, communication is referred
to as a Tweet. Tweets are limited to 140 characters
each. However, Twitter does not limit how often
a user produces Tweets.